Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), the largest industrial company in the United Arab Emirates outside oil and gas, has shipped around 5,000 tonnes of spent pot lining, a byproduct from its industrial process, to UK-based Befesa.

Befasa specialises in waste management and recycling and will treat and recycle the spent pot lining to create useful raw materials for the cement, fibreglass and ceramics industries.

Spent pot lining is the worn out inner lining of aluminium smelting pots. The lining is typically replaced every four to five years.

The global aluminium industry produces over 1 million tonnes of spent pot lining every year according to industry experts, much of which is then kept in indefinite storage, a statement from EGA said.

EGA aims to recycle all its spent pot lining over the longer term and the shipment to Befesa, which is EGA’s first internationally, accelerates this process.

EGA has supplied spent pot lining to UAE cement plants for use as a feedstock since 2010.

Last year local cement plants used over 37,000 tonnes of EGA’s spent pot lining, more than EGA’s average annual production.

EGA managing director and chief executive officer Abdulla Kalban said: “Ultimately our objective is to use all our spent pot lining here in the UAE in ways that are both responsible and create additional value for the UAE’s industries.

“We are making great progress with the cement industry, creating benefits for both sectors. Meantime, to achieve the highest standards of responsibility, we must also find economic uses for our spent pot lining internationally,” Kalban said.